As we bring in the New Year, the Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Hub is offering a five-week book discussion beginning on January 6 on Katharine Hayhoe’s book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World. Register here: Meeting Registration – Zoom
Jan 6, 12 pm CT: The Problem and the Solution
Jan 13, 12 pm CT: Why Facts Matter—and Why They Are Not Enough
Jan 20, 12 pm CT: The Threat Multiplier
Jan 27, 12 pm CT: We Can Fix It
Feb. 3, 12 pm CT: You Can Make a Difference
Dr. Hayhoe is a world-renowned climate scientist, chief scientist for the Nature Conservancy, and Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She is a United Nations Champion of the Earth, one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People, and the climate ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. Her book is one of the most effective guides to communicating with persons across the political and theological spectrum about climate change and the urgency for action to address our climate crisis.
Mark Davies will be leading the book discussion, and he is Wimberly Professor for Social and Ecological Ethics at Oklahoma City University, Founding Director of the World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, and Executive Director of the LEAD Hub United States. In addition to focusing on ecological ethics in his graduate studies, Davies has taught courses on environmental ethics for the past 27 years, given hundreds of presentations on climate justice and ecological ethics around the world, published widely on these subjects, and served as the writing team leader for the “Community of All Creation” section of the 2020 Revisions of the Social Principles of the United Methodist Church
The book Saving Us is available as an e-book, hard cover, or paperback edition at the vendor of your choice.
The Leadership, Education, and Development (LEAD) Hub United States for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) hosts the work of the LEAD Hub’s Social and Ecological Responsibility Initiative, which includes working closely with the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement to promote education and advocacy for environmental justice and climate justice. The LEAD Hub United States has been an ongoing partner with UM Creation Justice as a resource for summits and online webinars, and the Hub provides funding to assist the publication of the monthly newsletter of the UM Creation Justice Movement. The LEAD Hub also helps connect the UM Creation Justice Movement with eco-justice leaders in Methodist-related schools, colleges, and universities around the world.
The LEAD Hub United States has also been a resource for the International Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (IAMSCU) and its regional networks, especially in relation to environmental issues and climate justice initiatives. The Hub hosted a conference on social and ecological responsibility at Oklahoma City University in 2019 and has served as a resource for educational events hosted in Brazil, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Mexico, and the United States over the past five years.
Going forward, the LEAD Hub United States will continue networking with the Methodist International Student Exchange Network as a resource for its online Café Alive program, which often involves student discussions in relation to environment education, sustainability, and climate justice. The LEAD Hub United States is also looking forward to increased partnerships with the North American Association of Methodist Schools, Colleges, and Universities (NAAMSCU) to help develop co-curricular educational opportunities related to social and ecological responsibility.
Many of our United Methodist related schools, colleges, and universities are leaders in eco-justice, climate justice, and ecological sustainability. Twenty-five United Methodist related universities have taken part in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s Sustainability Tracking, Assessment, and Rating System, and many of our colleges have received national recognition for their sustainability achievements. Our connectional system provides our higher education network with excellent opportunities for creative and effective collaboration, and the LEAD Hub United States is privileged to play a key role in this life-giving and hope-filled work.